Chapter Eighteen:

A/N: SCHOOL IS DONE! Yahh! And I should have all summer to write, because I don't have a real job. But I got an audition call today for a theatre up about an hour and a half away, so if I get and want the part, that means I will be staying up there in a cottage for like three or four weeks, but I could bring my computer I suppose haha. I need a laptop. Anyways, here we go! Thanks to everyone who reviewed!

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"So what do you want to do now?" Calleigh asked. She had taken her yearly, holiday trip down memory lane, and was insistent on moving from the past, and focusing on having fun in the present.

"Well we could go skiing?" Eric suggested eagerly. He wanted to cheer Calleigh up and skiing could be a great way to do that. His thoughts were only confirmed as Calleigh nodded vigorously in agreement.

"Sounds good to me!" She told him. "We haven't done enough skiing this weekend!"

"Agreed." Eric nodded with a smile. And so they got dressed, with no complications or interruptions this time, and headed out to the slopes. After picking up the necessary skiing equipment they were all set to go. "Ready to go down the bigger hills today?"

"I think so." Calleigh nodded bravely. She was excited; she had loved skiing on the baby hills, but it almost wasn't worth it, for the time you spent skiing was almost shorter than the long ride back up the tiny hill.

"Great!" Eric smiled brightly. "Well, of course you'll be okay! You have me here beside you… what more could you ask for?" He joked.

"Yeah right." Calleigh rolled her eyes. "Come on hotshot, let's go." They skied over to the line behind a bigger chairlift that would take them halfway up the mountain. Calleigh was scared, but excited as well. She was a natural at skiing, Eric had said that himself, and she knew that he would protect her and that made her feel safer than most things could. As they finally got to the front of the line, and on the ski lift, Calleigh realized just how high they were going, and just how long it would take to get there, and naturally, as it was her first time on the huge ski lift, she got intimidated. Luckily, Eric was a CSI, and sensed her nervousness.

"You'll be fine Cal." Eric told her, moving closer so he could slip his arm around her shoulders in a reassuring manner. She sighed, trying to calm herself down. She wasn't sure if having Eric's arm around her shoulder was helping or making things worse. It was doing anything to slow down her racing heartbeat, but it was convincing her that her heart was no longer racing due to fear.

"Thanks." She smiled at him through her goggles and layers of winter clothing. He really did make her feel better.

"Anytime." He smiled back at her; "I told you you'd be okay if you had me here beside you." Calleigh smacked him in the arm playfully. But she knew it was true.

"So you're enjoying the vacation?" Eric asked, as there was not much else to do on the ski lifts but make conversation.

"I love it." Calleigh sighed contently. "Thank you so much for convincing me to come."

"No problem. I'm enjoying this a lot more than I have in years with you here." Eric admitted.

"I'm glad." Calleigh told him. She wanted to ask him where they stood now, if things would be different when they got back, but she was afraid of the answer. She knew, at least she thought she knew, that Eric liked her in the way she liked him.

"Me too." Eric chuckled. By this time, there were nearly half ways up the hill. The lift didn't get any higher than this so Eric wanted to make sure Calleigh didn't totally freak out if she looked down and saw how high up they were.

"Eric!" She practically screeched. "Look how high up we are!" At this, she moved closer towards him and he tightened his grip around her shoulder.

"It's okay Calleigh, we'll only be this high for a second." Eric told her. But the truth in that vanished as the lift came to a halt. Calleigh wasn't sure if she should scream, cry, or just bury her face in Eric's shoulder. She went for the third option, as it would embarrass her the least, and attract the least attention.

"What happened?" She asked fearfully.

"Don't worry Cal," He told her reassuringly, his hand now rubbing small circles on her back to try and regulate her breathing. "This happens all the time. Someone probably just had trouble getting on or off the lift. I'm sure we'll be going again in a second.

"Well they have damn good timing." She commented, "We're right at the top of the lift."

"Cal, we'll be fine." Eric told her, "Just try and relax."

"Okay." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "It's not working."

"What?" He furrowed his brow.

"I can't relax. I keep thinking the lift is going to collapse, or we'll be stuck here forever. There's no way for them to get us!" Calleigh sighed.

"Calleigh," Eric didn't know how to calm her down. He had to admit, that deep inside, he did feel a bit uncomfortable being stuck in the middle of the biggest ski lift… but he knew that nothing would go wrong. It was just a small, technical problem. "We'll be fine, okay? I promise."

"Promise?" She checked, knowing he wouldn't break one.

"Promise." He confirmed, and she relaxed a tiny bit. He kept rubbing circles on her back in hopes that it was helping her feel comfortable. "You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah. I think so." She was relaxing more and more. "Thanks for not letting me totally freak out."

"That wasn't totally freaking out?" Eric remarked sarcastically.

"Oh, shut up." She laughed. She didn't know how happy it made him to hear her laugh.

"So what are your plans for Christmas?" Eric inquired.

"None." Calleigh answered nonchalantly. "I practically never have plans for Christmas. I got the day off and everything, but nothing to do. Every few years I'll go home to Louisiana but I went back there last year, two years in a row overwhelms me."

"Yeah." Eric commented.

"What are your plans?" She asked.

"Crazy Delko family celebrations." He rolled his eyes. "Same thing every year. I go to my parents house, which is usually jammed full of people. I eat until I can't eat anymore then I sit around and try to follow three or four conversations at once, all in different languages." He laughed. "You should come with me, if you don't have any other plans."

"Ah, I'm sure you'll be sick of me by then." Calleigh smiled faintly. His Christmas celebration sounded like everything she'd ever wanted hers to be. "I mean, after this vacation I'm sure you won't even want to be paired with me at work for a few weeks."

"Oh Cal, you have to know that isn't true." Eric told her, "I love every single minute I spend with you, I can't get enough. Now, you may be sick of me…"

"Then it sounds like fun!" Calleigh put in with a bright smile. "I mean, the Christmas thing. I've always wanted to go to a real family Christmas."

"Well, year after year it gets sort of, boring and overwhelming, but I'd love to have you there." Eric told her sincerely.

"Then I'd love to be there. Your family won't mind?" She checked.

"Trust me, if they even notice that you're there through all the other stuff they're attempting to do, they will be thrilled. My parents love you."

"I've only met them a few times." Calleigh pointed out.

"Yeah, but you're an easy person to love." He hoped she got the hint. Then with a jerk the ski lift starting to move again and it wasn't long before they reached the top of the mountain.

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A/N: Haha. So CHRISTMAS IN JULY. Oh boy. Well, how was that fluff? I hope it was satisfactory. I did get the part in the play so that means that I'll be super busy with rehearsals then performances, but that's okay, because I usually update faster I guess when I have things to do and I have to fit fanfiction in. With so much free time I don't do much at all hah lazy Dayna. Okay well ttyl!