Author's Note: Thanks have to go to Bella7 for letting me borrow her furry friend. Those of you who have read her work should know what I'm talking about. Those of you who haven't… WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?? GO NOW. READ NOW. *ahem.* And now on the to fanfiction…

Calleigh was picking her way through a dinner of over-steamed vegetables, a rubbery and mysterious (and untouched) meat product, and Jello when Natalia arrived with a change of clothes for her. She'd been hoping for Eric, but at the sight of the take-out bag clutched in Natalia's hand, any disappointment was instantly erased.

"Oh, God. What is that? Is it edible? Can I have it?"

Natalia actually laughed out loud, then set the bag on the edge of the bed and pulled out two cartons and a small covered bowl. "Sweet and sour chicken from Mr. Yin's," she informed, and Calleigh would have gotten out of bed and hugged her, were it not for the food-covered tray swung over her lap. "Eric told me your lunch left something to be desired, so I figured I'd treat you to dinner."

"You're my favorite," Calleigh insisted, quickly rearranging her tray so the Chinese cartons blocked her view of the inedible hospital food beyond. Natalia – bless her – lifted the tray and moved it to a free table on the other side of the room. "I mean it – oh, you can save the Jello. It's cherry; I'm on my fourth cup of the day."

"It can be your dessert," Nat reasoned, heading back to the bed and sitting on the edge as Calleigh dug into her dinner with an enthusiasm only the truly hungry could muster. "I'd ask how you're feeling, but if the way you're tucking away that chicken is any indication, I'd say you're doing fine."

Calleigh blushed just a little, and made sure to actually chew before she swallowed – she'd done enough choking in the last twenty-four hours. "Hospital food is awful. And yes, I'm doing better. They're thinking of releasing me tonight, if my oxygen levels are still looking good. They were a little low again this morning."

"So I heard."

Calleigh looked confused for a second, then smiled as comprehension dawned on her. "Eric."

"Yeah. He's been kind of adorable all day."

Interest piqued, Calleigh made a point of glancing down at her food so as not to give anything away when she asked, "Oh yeah? How so?"

"He's worried about you. Distracted. And trying really hard not to act like it's the only thing on his mind, but you know how good he is at masking his emotions."

Calleigh snorted a short chuckle and nodded. "Yeah, he's not winning any awards in that category. Let's never let him go undercover."

"Oh, God," Natalia almost laughed. "He'd get himself killed. And speaking of things we shouldn't let him do, why have you not thrown out those god-awful shirts he keeps showing up in? He's wearing the butterflies again today."

"Oh, Eric," Calleigh grimaced, shaking her head – then really processing the sentence. "Wait, what makes you think I have any say in what goes in Eric's closet?"

"Well, I'm not saying you've got him by the short hairs, but a girlfriend's gotta have some say in these things. At least, when the situation gets this dire."

Oh for the love… "Natalia. I'm not Eric's girlfriend."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"You know he's in love with you, right?"

"I…" Calleigh wasn't quite sure how to answer that, but she was quite sure she didn't want to admit to what was slowly blossoming between her and Eric. "…yes."

"But you're not dating him?"

"…No."

"You should."

"Natalia," Calleigh rolled her eyes.

"You should. Take it from a girl who's ridden that tilt-a-whirl, it's worth the price of admission."

Calleigh just stared for a moment, then decided, "You've been spending too much time with Valera," shaking her head again and turning her attention back to her dinner.

"I'm just saying…"

"And I'm not," Calleigh cut off, the edge of finality in her voice doing nothing to suppress its lightness. Still, she decided a change of topic was a good plan just about now. "Did you feed Cubano?"

"I did. And we played with his laser pointer for a few minutes, and I gave him a catnip toy." She gestured to the shoulder bag she'd left next to the chair. "And there's a tank top, clean underthings, sneakers and a track suit in there for you."

"The purple velour one?"

"Yes, ma'am." She tried for Southern and didn't quite hit it, but Calleigh offered the smile nonetheless. "It was exactly where you said it would be."

"Good." Cal tossed her fork back into the carton of chicken, suddenly full. "The idea of putting the heels and tight pants back on right now…" She shook her head. "I just want to curl up in something comfy and sleep for days."

"I bet. You want me to head out so you can get some rest before Mr. WorryWart shows up? When I left, he was finishing up some late lab work, and treating it like a death sentence."

"Oh good, he'll be whiny," Calleigh smirked ruefully. "I'd feel bad kicking you out."

"Don't," Nat insisted. "You're starting to look a little beat. Get some rest, and I will see you next week."

"Sooner," Calleigh insisted, choosing against arguing for her to stay – she was right, Cal was starting to lose steam again. Instead, she reached forward and began to close up the Chinese cartons. "Stop by this week. We'll watch chick movies and drink wine. Have a girl's night."

"Alright." Natalia rose and tucked the cartons back into the bag she'd brought them in, setting it on the chair that Calleigh had come to think of as Eric's chair. He'd spent the most time in it, after all. "If you get out of here tonight, you can toss that in the fridge and have lunch tomorrow. If not… I suppose Eric can eat it when he gets here."

"I'm pretty sure I won't be able to stop him," Calleigh pointed out, settling back against her pillows as Natalia grabbed her purse and snickered her agreement. Much to her dismay, Calleigh was already half asleep before the other CSI was out the door.