A/N: I appreciate the reviews on the last chapter! Thanks so much! I hope you all enjoy this one. :)

Chapter Seven: Understand

Natalia exhaled as she got down to business. The week had already proven to be a long one and it was only Tuesday. The team had been struck with a series of weird and unusual cases lately and this one was no different. It was all hands on deck with the case of a teenager being decapitated on a boat. Natalia sighed and clutched her stomach. Just thinking about the details of the case brought on a wave of nausea. Natalia picked up movement from the side of her eye and noticed it was Ryan heading her way. She sat up a little straighter and continued writing the report for her findings.

"Nice work," Ryan said, examining evidence that Natalia was currently working on.

"Thanks," Natalia said, smiling appreciatively. "Almost documentary worthy, wouldn't you say?" She noticed the confusion spread across Ryan's face and continued talking. "You know, I would've done the same exact thing you and Eric did today. The last thing this department needs is more scrutiny."

"Scrutiny like your convert investigation of our lab?" Ryan retorted.

Natalia gasped slightly, shocked that Ryan would bring that up. "You know. Ryan, when I started here, I really did start with the best intentions. And when it all came crashing down, I lost almost every friend I had. I would really hate to see somebody else make the same mistake." She couldn't believe the nerve of Ryan. She knew it was going to take some time to build trust amongst the team but she had thought they were passed all of that. After all, Ryan seemed genuinely concerned about her in the last few weeks. She wondered where the animosity came from.

Ryan cut his eyes. "Well, I agreed to do it."

Natalia cut her eyes in the same gesture. "And let a camera crew follow you around?" At Ryan's conformation, she spoke again. "And Horatio agreed to that?"

"As long as it doesn't interfere with my work, yeah," Ryan said. He noticed Natalia's face. "Natalia, somebody had to do it."

"So you're going to fall on the sword." She clutched her stomach again as she felt a deep dip.

"The lab needs a clean slate," Ryan said. "And you know what they say, sunshine is the best disinfectant."

Natalia stared at Ryan in disbelief. But before she could say anything to Ryan, he'd already changed the subject.

"So, is this thing going to tell us what happened to him?"

Natalia looked at the impression print from the gravel taken close to their crime scene and then looked at Ryan. There was so much that she wanted to say but she decided to let it go. She already had a lot going on with her pregnancy and dealing with Nick, she didn't need the added issue. Putting her pride aside, she looked at him again. "I'm working on it. Tread marks from the scene were a unique tire pattern. The only place that sells these tires are a place called, 'Tread on Me' and the last custom order was made by a Noah Roberts."

"Noah Roberts," Ryan repeated. "Maybe he can shed some insight on what happened to our victim. I'm gonna have patrol bring him in. Thanks."

Natalia watched as Ryan left. She rolled her eyes and shook her head. She didn't know what Ryan's issue was with her.

…

Calleigh could admit to herself that the relationship between her and Eric had seen better days. Hell, she could make the argument that her relationship between her and Jake had been better too. Both men were currently trying to win back her approval; Eric after her inadvertently spilled details of her personal life to Stetler and Jake after he abruptly broke up with her. Besides case-related conversations at work, she hadn't really spoken to them. After all, both broke her heart on the same day. Letting out a sigh, Calleigh understood why the no-fraternization policy was enforced. She shook her head and decided to try to get back to work.

That was a task that proved difficult. After all, she, Eric and Jake were currently working on the same case and while she was processing the boat, she noticed Eric and Jake on the shore talking. She rolled her eyes and continued her work. After about two minutes, she felt the dip of the boat, indicating that she was not alone.

"Hey Calleigh," Eric started. "Jake just got off the phone with the tow yard…says it's gonna be a few hours before we can get this boat out of here."

"Mhmm," Calleigh expressed without looking up.

Calleigh's lack of words to him proved that she was still angry, but just in case he had any doubts, he noticed how she shifted her body, letting him know that she was not in the mood for any conversation. Still he wanted to try. "Calleigh…"

"Eric," Calleigh said, cutting him off. "I really just want to do our job."

Eric bit his lip a little before he continued talking. "That has been your default response for the last few weeks. Don't you think we should at least talk about it? I am sorry for the way everything went down but just so you know, I am not willing to throw away years of our friendship for a misunderstanding."

Calleigh lightened a little and looked at Eric. She shook her head and let out a sigh. "You're right. I've been so hung up about this situation, I didn't even think of the bigger picture."

Eric relaxed a bit as his eyes glanced at the shore where Jake was standing and then back at Calleigh. "You know, if it were you and me, I would have never let you go."

Calleigh shook her head and bit her lip. "See, that's it."

Eric let out an inaudible sigh before speaking again. "Calleigh, did I say something wrong?"

Just as she was about to respond, Jake yelled out to them about the boat being moved sooner than expected. Calleigh looked down on the floor of the boat before looking at Eric. "Let's finish processing the boat. Meet me at my place later?" She watched Eric nod and continued processing the scene.

…

Even though she planned the meeting, finding the right words to say were difficult. Calleigh ordered takeout hoping that dinner would lessen some of the awkwardness between them but it didn't really help. Dinner was done and here they were still stuck with their thoughts.

Eric could see how much Calleigh was struggling with letting her thoughts go; he initiated most of the conversations they had that night but looking at the clock and how late it was becoming, he wanted to dive into their issues before ending the night. With a comforting sigh, Eric started talking. "Earlier on the boat when we were processing it, you said something that seemed like a revelation and I would like to know what you were getting at. Can we talk about that?"

Calleigh looked at her coffee table and grabbed the pendant from the necklace that was around her neck. It was a nervous habit and she knew Eric knew it. Eric knew everything about her, which is why she considered him a best friend. She let out a sigh and looked at him. "You know, expressing how I feel has always been difficult for me. I have always been able to mask what I feel but you…you can always see through it." She gave a slight smile to let him know that she didn't mind that he always knew how she truly felt. "I meant what I said about you and me. When we were on the boat, I said what I said because Eric you know that I struggle with trusting others. I know Jake is…well was temporary."

Eric held his head down. "Cal…I'm sorry about th-"

"No," Calleigh said, cutting him off. "It's not that."

Eric inhaled and exhaled. "Then what is it?"

Calleigh nodded her head and bit her lip as she confirmed her thoughts. "I'm afraid to be final with you. Honestly, I'm not sure if we are ready for this yet."

"Calleigh, you know I would never hurt you," Eric said, grabbing her hand. "Don't be afraid of us trying this out. I am sorry about what happened but I would never let anything come between our relationship."

Calleigh nodded her head and looked at Eric in his eyes. "I know, Eric. Still, I need some time. I am not ready."

Eric nodded his head and brought Calleigh's hands up to his lips. He kissed them and pulled away. "Okay. Just so you know, when you are ready, I am here and I will be ready."