Calleigh held Eric on top of her, enjoying the weight of him. With her hands on his shoulder blades, Calleigh could feel his breathing return to normal. She was sore and her body was aching already as he pulled out.

Eric hung his head as she put one hand over her mouth, closing her eyes in regret. How had she let things get this far?

"Calleigh, don't," he said, his voice hoarse.

Calleigh pushed on his arms to slide out from underneath him. Eric watched her button the shirt and look around for her underwear. Eric handed them to her and she pulled them on, giving him a coy look.

"There it is," Eric said, pointing to her face.

"What is?" she asked, standing up.

Eric stood up and pulled on his boxers. "That look you have. Like you didn't just get fucked."

"Eric -" Calleigh started, shocked.

"Even though your lips are swollen and your cheeks are flushed, you just give me this look like you've never heard the word," he said. "I don't know how I'm going to live without seeing that."

Calleigh took a step towards him, hoping he meant what he really meant. "Really?"

Eric nodded. "At least this way you're still my friend. I don't want you to hate me."

Calleigh shook her head. "That's not possible, Eric. I promise you."

"You know I only ever wanted you to think good things about me," he told her.

Calleigh moved to hug him but he pulled away. Calleigh took his arm with both hands, and looked up at him earnestly. "Eric, I have never thought little of you. You would have to do a lot for me to lose respect for you."

"You're important to me," he said. "You know that right?"

"Yes," she said, softly. "I've had a great time. And you never made me feel like we were doing anything wrong."

"Do you think we did anything wrong?" Eric asked, pulling her into his arms.

"Sometimes," Calleigh said sadly. "Sometimes I felt like I was living a double life when we were together."

They laughed at the idea and she let out a long breath.

"Sometimes I felt like I was betraying Horatio," Calleigh admitted.

Eric was scared to ask. "Did you guys ever -"

"No!" Calleigh interrupted. She laughed and shook her head. "No."

Eric was confused. "Then why..."

"I don't know, he's our boss," Calleigh admitted, her cheeks red with embarrassment. "I look up to him. I want him to be proud of me."

"He'd be crazy not to be," Eric assured her. "I don't think I have to tell you we all want H's approval."

"You do?"

Eric nodded and began rubbing his hands up and down her back. "H has always had my back. I don't have to tell you what that means."

"Yeah," she said slowly and gave him a reassuring squeeze. "I think it's time, Eric."

Eric pulled her tight to him and she tightened her grip. "I feel like I'm never going to see you again."

Calleigh pressed her face into his chest, shaking her head. "You'll move on."

"Oh yeah?" Eric asked.

"I'm not the first girl you've ever had Eric," Calleigh reminded him. "Why don't you ask out Boa Vista, she's pretty sexy."

"Oh yeah?" he asked with a laugh.

"Don't you think?" she said, looking up at him, laying her accent on thick.

"Sure but-"

"Well ask her out then," she told him with a smile. "Get yours."

Eric laughed. "I don't need a pimp Calleigh." He kissed her lips and her cheeks. "But thanks for the idea."

"You hadn't thought about it?" she asked quietly.

Eric wanted to say yes but when Boa Vista started at CSI, Eric was too busy thinking about his sister. He wasn't blind, he could see she was beautiful but he was hoping things would get better with Calleigh. He was hoping they might go public and tell everyone about their relationship. He was hoping they would have the relationship he'd wanted when they started the whole thing.

"You ever think about Ryan?" he countered.

He hoped she would say no. He hoped she'd laugh off the idea because the idea of Calleigh with any other man wasn't something he wanted in his head.

Calleigh shrugged her shoulders. "He's just a flirtation."

"Are you trying to make me jealous?" Eric asked. He leaned in and smelled her hair, trying to memorise the scent of her like this.

"This isn't going to work if we get jealous," Calleigh retorted seriously. "I want you to be happy, Eric."

"I want you to be happy too. I thought I'd be the guy to do that for you," he said sheepishly. "I guess that was stupid."

"It's not stupid," she murmured. "But you know why..."

"Calleigh -" Eric started.

"Interoffice relationships usually end messy," Calleigh replied and Eric nodded, giving her a kiss. "Eric."

Eric kissed her again and she responded. It was hungry and needy, as he tasted her lips and felt her tongue against hers. He didn't want to end things with her. Being friends wouldn't be good enough when the feeling of sex with her was the best kind of high. Eric wanted to distract her for as long as he could. If he could keep her aroused, if he could keep her in his arms then she might forget things wouldn't end.

In the time they had spent together, he was getting good at reading her eyes, her sighs, her smiles and her kisses. The kisses which told him how she wanted to be taken or if she wanted to be held a little longer. Sometimes her kisses would tell him she needed him to stay, when her hands were on his chest pushing him out the door.

This was the kind of kiss that told him she needed him.

Eric kissed her cheeks tenderly and whispered, "Too rough?"

Calleigh blushed. "No."

Eric smiled as he kissed her neck. "Are you sore?"

"A little," she whispered. It was more than just a little, her hips ached already and Calleigh could tell sitting would be uncomfortable for the next day or so.

For all things considered, rough sex wasn't the way she had planned to end things but she knew that when she opened the door.

The tender kisses on her neck were signs Eric was sorry. Admitting she was sore was a big step for her, it only came at the point in their relationship as things were ending.

"Would you stay the night?" she asked shyly.

Eric looked at her in surprise. "Really?"

Calleigh nodded. "I would feel better... I want to..."

Eric pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. "Yeah. I'd like that."

They brushed their teeth in silence; the spare toothbrush she kept around for him would no longer be needed. As he dropped it in the cup next to her toothbrush she frowned.

"Are you on tomorrow?" she asked as they pulled back the covers.

Eric took off his watch, setting it on the bedside table. "Yeah, I'm working the triple."

"How did you manage to get out of there?" she asked as she walked over to her dresser, taking out a fresh pair of underwear and a pale pink tanktop to sleep in. She hung Eric's shirt up in her closet and climbed into the bed next to him.

"I said to H without you there it wasn't really fair to proceed on the case," Eric said as he wrapped his arm around her. "That made Ryan want to work all night so H sent us home."

Calleigh smiled. "Smart."

"Ryan was an easy target," Eric replied and kissed the back of her head. "My laziness made him want to work harder and H call it a night."

"He's very overzealous," she agreed.

Eric lay behind her, taking in her smell as he held her to him. It was hard for him to admit this would be their last night together. It was difficult to admit this would be the last time he would be allowed to be with her like this.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

Calleigh looked over her shoulder at the gorgeous man in bed with her. Part of her wanted what Eric wanted, to be a couple and make things official but that part of her also knew going public in the lab wasn't an option.

"I'm sorry too," she replied.

"I pushed you too far," he admitted. "I wanted too much."

She could feel the tears well up and she bit her lower lip, trying to hold it in. "No."

"I shouldn't have expected you to want..."

"Eric." Calleigh interrupted. "Please don't do this."

Eric let her go and rolled onto his back, folding his hands behind his head. "I know I'm not what your parents would have wanted for you."

She turned over on her elbows and studied his face. "I don't want to fight with you."

"I'm right, aren't I?" he asked.

Calleigh smiled sadly. "I'm not sure. My dad likes any man who knows how to treat a lady. My mother still holds onto the notion I'll marry a man from Louisiana with the same background as her."

"Does she know what you do down here?" Eric asked, glancing from the ceiling to the blonde next to him. "Does she know when you crawl around in dumpsters or the ant thing? The real CSI stuff?"

"I don't divulge the details," she replied with a grin. "Wouldn't be ladylike."

"I can't tell you how many family dinners I've been asked about work," Eric started.

"And knew they wanted to know about catching the criminals, not about the head wounds or the floaters," she finished.

Eric pulled her to him and she lay her head on his chest, wrapping her arm around him. "I'm going to miss you."

"I'll still be there for you," she whispered. "If you ever need anything, I'm there for you. I know it's not what you wanted.. I'm still here to talk."

"Let's not talk anymore, okay?" he asked as he kissed the top of her head.

Calleigh nodded and breathed in deeply the scent of Eric in her bed. Even though she asked for things to be over, it broke her heart to admit he wouldn't be with her like this again. Pushing other women onto him was her way of diverting her feelings for him. She just hoped when a new woman came into his life, he would be honest with her about it.

"I'm going to miss you," she whispered as she closed her eyes.

"Where's your camera?" Eric asked.

Calleigh opened her eyes and smiled slightly. "What?"

"Your digital camera, where is it?" he asked.

"It's in my nightstand," Calleigh replied, pointing over his shoulder. "Bottom drawer."

Eric rolled away from her and pulled out the camera from the bottom drawer. Turning the camera on, he took her picture before Calleigh could hide behind her pillow.

"Eric!"

"I want a picture of us," he replied softly and Calleigh's face redded. "Not sexual or anything but I want a picture of us together. Something for me."

"But, I'm in my pj's," she protested quietly.

Eric eyed the spaghetti straps and low-cut top of the tank she was wearing. "Calleigh."

She nodded and Eric lay down on the bed again. After put her head on his arm, Eric held the camera above them, hoping to get more of Calleigh in the picture than himself. He took several shots before moving away and getting a close-up of her with a secretive smile, one he saw earlier that night. Kissing her lips softly, he took one more, knowing the image of him in her bed would be secured on the disc for him to review later.

Eric slid back into bed after putting the camera in his shoe, so he wouldn't forget it. Calleigh was still blushing but Eric ignored it, giving her a reassuring kiss on her forehead.

He pulled her into his embrace and held her tightly to his chest, hoping she would fall asleep first. Leaving her in the morning would be the hardest thing he would ever have to do. If he could just stay awake just a little bit longer.