Three days, three days had passed since the accident happened, three whole days without hearing from her. He had sent her a text when he knew she had gotten home from the hospital and she had answered she was fine, but from that moment he never got another text or a call.

When Emily Byrne entered the bureau that day it was late afternoon, almost early evening we could say, she just had to talk with Crown so he told her to meet after his shift was over. She looked around, knowing her partner would have been there too since he had to take care of the case alone, but he was no where to be seen. She talked with Crown, who updated her on the case and warned her about some procedures that she should take care of before coming back.

"And if you're looking for Isaac, he is downstairs at the gym. I don't know what the fuck is wrong with him but he has been working out till late after his shift is over in those three days" Crown said worried once the conversation ended.

"I'll check him, see you on Monday" and with that she left the room.

The gym was dark and quiet, lightened up just by a light bulb at the end of it; she could hear a muffled sound of punches beating a punching bag. In the dim light of the room she could see him, he looked angry, frustrated and exhausted but she got closer anyway. As she got closer she could see he was shirtless, sweat glistening on his skin and she took a moment to look at him; she had always thought he was well trained and she had to admit she took a peak at his abs when his shirt got wet in Moldova, but it was the first time she saw his tattoos, she could see three... maybe four of them on his skin.

"Hey" she stepped closer, trying to speak over the, now loud, sound of his punches on the bag.

He didn't answer. She noticed he had his earphones on and she didn't want to scare him, there would have been a high possibility to get a punch in the face if he thought there was some kind of threat. She placed herself in front of him, slowly trying to get his attention and approaching him until he saw her. He immediately pulled his earphones away and shove them into his pocket.

"Hey" he said breathless.

"I heard you're trying to become the new Rocky so I had to check it by myself since I kinda had beaten you up the last time we boxed" she chuckled.

"Yeah, well I need to get stronger" he said seriously, avoiding her joke.

"What? You already are strong Cal, what do you mean?" she asked confused.

"I mean I'm not strong enough, I need to do more so next time you'll get hurt I'll be able to protect you" he answered, positioning his hand on the punching bag to stop it from swinging.

"What are you talking about? You weren't there with me, you were still on your ride there when it happened, it's not like you failed in protecting me, you actually saved my life" she got closer but he took a step back.

"If I would have been there I could have helped you but what if that guy was even stronger than me? What if he had knocked both of us down?" he asked.

"I had him, he just took me while I wasn't expecting him. You would have gotten him on the ground with one punch" she explained, letting out a breath, remembering that moment.

"Maybe you should ask for another partner, someone that doesn't take too long to get where you need him" he let out a sad and frustrated breath, trying to calm himself down.

He cared about her, he loved her, and knowing he might mess it up again sent him crazy.

"What?! What's wrong with you?! I don't want another partner, I want you! And stop blaming yourself over what happened! You can't teleport or fly Cal! You got there as soon as you could and you saved my life!" her tone rise as she got closer, and this time he didn't move but his eyes looked away.

"I'm sorry, I should have been faster" he whispered, trying to hold back his tears.

"Cal, I'm ok, you got there in time" she tried reassure him but it didn't work.

"Cal please look at me" she gently cupped his face to make him look at her in the eyes.

His face finally went under the light and she could see some tears formed at the corner of his eyes, which were still looking away from her. She moved her head to meet his eyes and her heart broke. She wrapped her arms around his body, laying her head in the crook of his neck.

"I'm sweaty" he pointed out whispering, he was trying so hard to keep his emotions inside.

"I don't care" she hugged him even tighter and he wrapped his arms around her, laying his head in her hair, breathing her in.

He could recognize her perfume everywhere, it was intoxicating, or maybe she was the intoxicating one, he couldn't tell.

"I'm here Cal, I'm alive because of you, stop blaming yourself" she tried to switch her head to look at him but his arms hugged her tightly, worried that she would have gotten away.

"I'm sorry, I missed you, I was joking that morning. I have never had a better partner. I thought I lost you" he was now sobbing, she could tell by his broken voice and the way his breath quickened.

She freed herself from his embrace just enough to cup his face with both her hands. She could tell he cared a lot about her and he was so worried that she could get hurt again that he wanted to get stronger and stronger to protect her, but she didn't need protection.

"Never, you'll never loose me. I missed you too" she looked deeply into his green eyes and she couldn't take it anymore.

She raised on her tiptoes and she let their lips touch in a soft kiss. At first she thought she had screwed it up but his arms soon wrapped around her waist, keeping her there and angling her head to kiss her deeper.

He had to tell her, he couldn't wait any longer. She had to know that it wasn't just a crush or something temporary, not for him. He started to develop feelings for her months before and they never faded.

"I love you" he breathed on her lips before kissing her again.

"I know, I love you too" she answered kissing him deeper.

She knew, she knew he loved her, or at least she knew he cared about her in a deeper way than a simple work partner or friend. As his taste inebriated her she let her hands travel up and down his naked chest and on his back. They both ended up breathless, parting their lips but keeping their forehead touching.

"I should take a shower, would you mind wait for me?" he breathed on her lips.

"I need a shower too" she answered.

In a normal occasion his brain would have told him they were still at work, obviously no one would come to the gym at this hour in the evening but it was a public place. His body and heart, on the other hand, didn't hesitate to pick her up and dragging her with him.

Luckily the gym showers had doors to let every person that used them to get a bit of privacy since, usually in the afternoon, the place was pretty crowded. Their clothes got lost somewhere between the bathroom's door and the shower's one, their lips never leaving each other's bodies. He had asked her millions of times if she was sure about it and every single time she nodded or she told him she was a hundred percent sure. Feeling her back hit the cold wall she couldn't help but thinking that she had imagined this in a different way, but the important thing was that it was him, not someone else, him. They had time to do it in a more comfortable place, actually she was sure it was just a matter of hours to find herself wrapped in his embrace again at his apartment; but now she just needed him.

The cold on her back soon got warmed up by both the water that started to flow on their bodies and the heat created between them. He tried to muffle his grunts on her shoulder but her soft moans soon filled the room. Hopefully the water and the fact that they were separated from the gym by two closed doors would be enough to muffle the sounds of pleasure that were leaving her throat.

"I love you" she whispered in his ear as his pushes became sloppier.

"I love you too" he kissed her, muffling the long and deep moan that left her throat as they both reached their climax.

Opening her eyes she found his green ones looking back at her. As she breathed on his lips she knew that there was no turning back now, their relationship would have changed and she couldn't deny she was scared; but on the other hand she wanted it and she was sure.

She kissed him again, softly, locking their lips together in a quick peck before pulling back to look at him again, silently making him understand that it hadn't been a mistake or the rush of the moment, not for her.

"Would you mind continue this in a more private place? Like my apartment?" he asked on her lips.

"Yes, we should get dressed" she pointed out, looking away and blushing.

He gave her his bigger towel, wrapping it around her body to keep her warm while he dried himself with the smallest one. They didn't took a proper shower but her hair was wet and it would have been a problem to dry it with a smaller one.

"You didn't have to, I could have used the small towel" she looked up at him who had already a t-shirt in his hands.

"It's ok don't worry. I have this clean t-shirt, you can have it, yours has been laying on the floor and I think it's kinda dirty. You can have my jacket too, but your jeans somehow landed on the bench" he said helping her to get dressed.

"Cal it's ok you don't need to" Emily told him, he was so caring and sweet.

"But I want to, plus you're cute" his words made her blush, she couldn't help it.

They got dressed quickly, not really caring about how they looked, no one would have payed attention to them. The weather in Boston was still warm so she just let her hair dry by itself and she chuckled at the outfit Cal had just pulled out for her, both his t-shirt and jacket were definitely too big for her. It wouldn't have been a problem though, since as soon as they entered Cal's apartment the clothes ended on the floor.

-The End-