After hours of searching, they'd still found nothing. Eric's voice was hoarse from calling for Calleigh, and he was drenched in sweat, but he refused to give up. Horatio finally fell into a sitting position. "I need a break. Just a quick one. Come on, Eric, you need some water." Eric reluctantly agreed, and plopped down hard, wincing as he back end collided with the hard Earth. He took some water for Horatio, taking a long sip, before it occurred to him. "Horatio... is the ground underneath you hard?" he asked slowly. Horatio wiggled a little to test it, before shaking his head. "No, soft and sandy." he said, shrugging. Eric immediately jumped up and began digging at the sand, revealing a small corner of a trap door. "Hey!" he yelled, and people crowded around to help dig.
Soon, a large wooden door was revealed, and with some effort, opened. Flashlights shone in. "She's not he- wait, what's that?" his light shone on the ropes and gag that Calleigh had once been tied in. "She's down here!" he cried, and Horatio informed the choppers. Ropes were lowered down into the hole, and Eric and Horatio went down, looking around. "There's a tunnel over here!" Horatio yelled, and Eric and him ran down it, yelling Calleigh's name over and over. No response. Suddenly, Eric tripped and went sprawling onto the hard ground. "What the-?" he said, looking over his shoulder, seeing that a blonde body had tripped him. "Calleigh!" he yelled, and rolled her over, checking for breaths. "She's alive!" he yelled.
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When Calleigh finally awoke, she was in the hospital. She began blinking slowly so her eyes could adjust to the bright light. "Hmmmm...?" she mumbled incoherently. "She's waking up!" a woman's voice said softly, and Calleigh could hear people moving to her side. "Where... where am I?" she whispered, coughing. "In the hospital, in Miami." a familiar voice said. She finally opened her eyes, and with a bit of squinting and extra effort, she could finally see that it was Eric who was hovering over her. She smiled softly. "If you're gonna hover, at least block the light." she said weakly, and Eric laughed, but shifted into the path of light that was in Calleigh's eyes. "Could someone please pass me some water?" she asked, coughing again, and accepting the water Natalia handed her, taking a careful sip, and then as she adjusted, draining the bottle.
"Why am I in here anyway?" she asked, stronger now. "You passed out in that tunnel, most likely from dehydration." Natalia said, rubbing Calleigh's hand softly. "How are you feeling with some fluids in you? Do you want more?" she asked, and Calleigh nodded. Natalia left to go get another bottle of water for her friend. She stayed in the hospital another few days, then finally she was allowed to leave and return to work. She hadn't told anyone that she was released, because she wanted it to be more of a surprise. Bright and early, she walked into PD, and smiled at the people who saw her. She was so happy to be home. She heard her phone go off, signalling a text message, and stopped to pull out her phone.
The text message read: Don't think that we are done with you yet, bitch. I know your secret, and soon the whole lab will, too!
The number was blocked, so she couldn't trace it. She decided to ignore the text message. What were they going to do? She'd be with someone else at all times now. They couldn't surprise her like they had. She put her phone away, and walked into the open arms of Eric, right into a tight embrace. "When did they release you?" he said into her hair. "This morning. I wanted it to be a surprise." she said smiling, finally pulling out of the hug. "How's my lab? Is it in chaos?" she asked, smiling. "Nothing you can't fix, Cal." he said, laughing.
Don't get to excited that Calleigh is home just yet! This fanfiction still has a few more chapters going for it. ;) as always, R&R, I love you all! -Admin (aka Amber)