Snapshot Four
Daddy's Little Girl
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Oppressive. Smothering. Sweltering.

There weren't enough words to describe the heat of that early August day. Having lived in Miami all his life, Eric was used to it, but this was ridiculous.

Maybe it wasn't quite that bad; after all, Eric had always liked exaggerating. And he had spent the entire morning sloshing through the outskirts of the Everglades in that scorching wetsuit. It was volatile. He'd been out of the wetsuit for a while, actually, and he still hadn't managed to cool down.

It didn't help at all that the air conditioning in his Hummer had decided to mock him by blowing nothing but hot air in his face as he drove home for lunch. He couldn't wait to get home, not just for a bit of cool air, but also to see his two favorite girls. Despite the misery brought upon him by the heat, Eric couldn't help but smile as he thought of them.

It wasn't too much longer before he was out of the Hummer and making his way up the driveway. With a smile on his face he opened the front door, closing his eyes for a moment as a rush of cool air greeted him.

With only a few steps inside, Eric could already tell that something was off. The house was too quiet. The television was off, as were most of the lights. There were no cheerful giggles coming from the den, nor was there any sign of Calleigh moving about the house.

Puzzled, Eric slowly made his way to the kitchen, and his eyes were immediately drawn to the small square of pink attached to the refrigerator with Emma's favorite dolphin magnet. He reached out, pulling the note from the refrigerator with a smile.

Eric,

Emma's been a little antsy all morning. I took her down to the beach for a little while to try to burn off some of that extra energy. We won't be gone long - I don't want to keep her out in this heat for too long.

Love you.

Cal

Eric chuckled lightly as he reread the note. He could just imagine antsy Emma - the poor thing had been at daycare practically every day for the past three weeks. She'd certainly made her recent distaste of that known.

Of course, Eric hadn't liked it any more than Emma had. He missed his afternoons with her. Crime seemed to have increased dramatically in Miami over the last few weeks, and thus everybody at the lab, day and night shift, was feeling the effects.

So understandably, he was mildly envious toward Calleigh today. She'd managed to grab a coveted day off. While he was swimming with the gators in the middle of a swamp, Calleigh was at home, relaxing on the beach with their daughter.

All his earlier aversion to the heat forgotten, Eric made his way out the back door, pausing only briefly to pat a sleeping Riley on the head. Removing his shoes and socks, he padded out to the beach, his eyes scanning for any sight of his two favorite girls.

He saw them almost immediately, their identical blonde hair blowing in the breeze. Calleigh sat on the sand, the surf only just playing at her toes. A small, red bucket rested on the sand beside her, and Eric knew it was filled with seashells. Emma loved to collect them.

Emma stood just a few feet away in her sparkly pink bathing suit, playing in the breaking waves. The sound of her delighted giggles carried to Eric's ears, and he smiled widely, pausing for a moment just to watch.

She turned to Calleigh, and Eric couldn't help but grin. Over her eyes she wore a pair of goggles; the pair that had come with the toy snorkel Eric had bought her a couple weeks back. Ever since Eric had shown her pictures he'd taken while diving, Emma had been fascinated with the deep sea.

For now, she seemed to be satisfied to play around in the shallow waves, though Eric could see her creeping slowly deeper with every wave. He smiled; he could almost see Calleigh growing more and more tense.

"Emma!" she called out, a tinge of warning in her voice. "Not so far!"

"But I wanna swim!" Emma protested, though she did oblige her mother and move back, even if only slightly. She kneeled down as the water receded, squealing happily as she pulled another seashell from the sand. "Mommy! Look!" she exclaimed, standing again and running over to her mother. She extended her hands, the shell sparkling in the sunlight almost as much as Emma's eyes.

"Ooh, that's a big one!" Calleigh said, taking the offered shell. Emma smiled pridefully, and Calleigh breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps in finding another shell, Emma had forgotten about wanting to swim.

No such luck. As soon as Calleigh placed the shell in the bucket, Emma turned back to the ocean, staring wistfully. "I wanna go out there," she announced, pointing toward the ocean.

Calleigh watched her daughter, slightly confused. "You're in the water, sweetie," she said as a small wave washed over her feet.

Emma shook her head, decidedly clutching her snorkel. "No! I wanna go out there!" she repeated, pointing again. "Like Daddy!"

Calleigh felt her heart skip a beat, finally understanding what Emma meant. Eric had never even managed to get Calleigh out in the open sea, and now her daughter wanted to go? She didn't even want to think about that. "You don't want to go out there," she insisted, nibbling slightly at her lip.

"Yes I do," Emma pouted. "I wanna go see all the fishies and the other pretty stuff. Like in Daddy's pictures!"

Eric felt his heart swell with pride. He'd been trying to get Calleigh to go diving with him for years, but she always backed out at the last minute. It made him smile to know that one day he might have a diving buddy in his daughter.

"We'll have to wait til you're a little older, Emmy," Eric supplied, finally making his presence known. He grinned, making his way over to a surprised Calleigh. "We'll even get Mommy out there one day," he added, winking conspiratorially at his daughter.

Calleigh stood, chuckling. "I don't think so," she said, lazily closing the rest of the distance between herself and Eric, while still keeping a watchful eye on Emma as she skipped back to the waves.

Eric grinned. He draped his arms around Calleigh's waist, his fingers trailing so discreetly beneath the hem of her tank top. "You just wait," he teased, his eyes sparkling. "Maybe you can say no to me, but you can't say no to the both of us."

"You're terrible," Calleigh murmured, laughing softly. "Using my own daughter against me…"

Eric shrugged. "Whatever gets you out there," he said, dropping a quick kiss to her lips.

"Mm, and what if a shark gets me?" she asked, tilting her head adorably.

"First of all," Eric began, laughing, "I don't think a shark would stand a chance against you. And second, if that shark was stupid enough to think it stood a chance against you, do you really think I'd let it get you?" Calleigh grinned coyly, and Eric lifted a hand, gently brushing a strand of her hair, slightly wavy from the wind and humidity, out of her face. "Besides, I think you might change your mind once I take Emma out there and she tells you just how great it is."

Calleigh looked aghast. "Eric, she's just four!" Sure, she trusted Eric with her life; she always had. But that didn't mean that she liked the idea of their daughter swimming in the open sea, even with Eric.

"I know that," Eric replied. "Why do you think I told her in a few years?" He smiled; Calleigh still looked apprehensive. "Relax, baby," he said with a smile. "You know I wouldn't get her out there until she's had scuba lessons and until she really knew what she was doing, and most places start offering scuba lessons at ten. So she's still got about six years to snorkel in the shallows."

"Or six years to change her mind," Calleigh murmured, twisting around in Eric's arms so she could see Emma. It was difficult; Eric didn't seem to want to let her move.

He chuckled. "She won't." He allowed her to turn in his arms, but once she had, Eric once again tightened his arms around her waist, pulling her back against his chest. "Remember, she's just like you, Calleigh," he murmured at her ear. "Once she wants something, she's not going to give up until she's got it. Even if it takes six years to get it." Eric gave a low, rumbling chuckle, sending shivers down Calleigh's spine. "You may have a reprieve now, but as soon as Emma's ready, you're getting in the water with us."

"Eric…"

"Do you trust me?" he asked quietly, his lips brushing against her skin.

Calleigh trembled, wishing only slightly that Eric didn't know every last one of her weaknesses. If she had her way, Calleigh would never be in the ocean, forced to rely on only a tank of air to keep her alive. But if Eric kept kissing that spot behind her ear like that, she'd jump off a boat in a heartbeat. "Of course I do, Eric," she mumbled. "It's the ocean I don't trust."

As if on cue, an incoming wave broke with just the right strength to knock little Emma off her feet. She squealed, effortlessly climbing back to her feet with a huge smile on her face. Instead of scaring her back to the sand like Calleigh might've wanted, that wave seemed to have dissipated any apprehension Emma had left. Ever so slowly, she tiptoed further out, almost as though believing if she moved slowly enough, her mother wouldn't notice.

But to Calleigh, every small step Emma took was more like a giant leap. "Em…" she called out, tensing again in Eric's arms. Eric, however, only tightened his arms around his wife, puzzling her. "Eric, she -"

Still, Eric only held her more tightly, gently nuzzling at her neck. "Relax, Cal," he said quietly. Calleigh opened her mouth to protest, but Eric cut her off. "Relax, and just watch, okay?"

Reluctantly, Calleigh nodded, but she didn't relax. She couldn't.

Eric noticed. He lifted his head, pressing a reassuring kiss to her temple. "She's fine, baby," he murmured. "She's smart. She knows not to go too far."

Calleigh sighed. "I know…" she murmured, managing a smile. "Doesn't stop my heart from skipping every time she takes another step."

Eric simply chuckled, swaying Calleigh gently as they watched their daughter splash in the surf. Her mask firmly in place, this time Emma jumped into the waves, allowing herself to land on her knees. She laughed, splashing joyfully.

It was what happened next that really made Calleigh hold her breath. Emma stopped splashing and simply sat there, watching the next wave break mere feet away from her. She slipped her snorkel into her mouth and waited for the wave. As it reached her, Emma leapt forward, diving into the wave.

"Emma!" Calleigh yelled, her eyes wide. Her heart pounded, and she fought against Eric's embrace.

Eric still refused to let go. "Calm down, Cal," he said with a laugh, holding her tightly. "She knows what she's doing."

"How?" Calleigh demanded. "She just went under that wave!"

Eric smirked, knowing he was in trouble. "She's perfectly fine, baby. She's doing just like I taught her."

Calleigh froze. "You taught her that?" she asked, taken aback. She spun in his arms, glaring.

"Well, why not?" Eric challenged, grinning. His eyes sparkled mischievously. "I already had her out there teaching her to swim. What else were we supposed to do when the big waves broke right on top of us?" Calleigh's glare only intensified. "Besides, she was the one who wanted to go under the water and look around with her mask on. Who am I to refuse her?" Eric chuckled, pointing over Calleigh's shoulder. "Look, see her snorkel?"

Calleigh turned again, and sure enough, the top of Emma's blue snorkel was visible, moving in the aftermath of the wave. As the wave receded again, Emma popped up from the water, a giant smile on her face. Her dark eyes immediately locked with Eric's, and her grin widened even more. Pulling off her mask, she ran giggling from the water. "Daddy! Daddy! Did you see me?" she asked excitedly, dropping her mask and snorkel on the sand. "I dived just like you!"

"You sure did, sweetheart," Eric said, reaching down for her. He smiled brightly, easily lifting a happily squealing Emma into the air. "That's my girl!" he praised, giving her a kiss.

And despite her still pounding heart, as well as her slight disbelief that Eric had actually taught her that, Calleigh couldn't help but smile joyfully as well.

Just in case it's been unclear in any way, I'd just like to point out again that these are snapshots, not scenes from day-to-day life. With the exception of the first two chapters, Emma has aged a year in each chapter - she was three in ch3, and four here in ch4; and I can assure you that a fair bit of research has gone into keeping her age-appropriate for each chapter. Thanks so much to everybody who has read and reviewed this so far! Two chapters remain, and I hope you all enjoy them. :)