Okay people, I would just like to say that I am now a…beta-reader! I don't know if that matters to any of you or not, just throwing it out there. Sorry about the long wait; writer's block! Enjoy.
Eric and Calleigh's night had been long and rough; between Calleigh's bouts of sickness and Eric's nightmares, neither of them got much decent sleep. Every time he closed his eyes the smell of guns and body odor and dirt met his nose, and the harsh faces of his kidnappers appeared in front of the black of his closed eyelids. When he fell asleep his dreams were plagued with memories of the past two-and-a-half days and more, which was the worst of it all. Calleigh, with hands over a full belly and a terrified expression on her face as brutish men closed in on her with guns, knives, clubs…
Eric's eyes shot open, brow covered in a cold sweat, chest heaving. He rolled to his opposite side to wrap his arm around Calleigh and buried his face in her hair, breathing in her sweet scent and running a gentle hand over her warm, very alive, arm. Waiting for his heart to return to its normal thump-thump, thump-thump; he slowly rose out of bed.
The clock on the bathroom wall said that it was just past five in the morning, informing him that it was merely two hours later than his last trip in this room. Eric dampened a cloth with cool water and dabbed his forehead tenderly, trying to convince himself that it was just a dream. He wiped the cloth over his face swiftly before laying it half-in-half-out of the sink and returning to bed.
Calleigh had changed positions since he left; almost completely on her back, turned just slightly to hug his pillow. Eric smiled and gently pried the pillow from her grasp. Climbing back in, he lay on his side to watch her sleep, a habit he had picked up early on in their relationship, and something he hadn't found worthwhile before her. He allowed his eyes to wander over her slender (for now) figure, starting at her beautiful, fair face. Blonde hair was splayed over her won pillow – he wondered briefly when she had last used her own pillow – but didn't bother to dwell on it for now, and continued to gaze at her.
Though closed, he could see her piercing sea-colored eyes, boring a hole straight through him, a suspect, the team members, anyone who dared to cross her path. But in an instant those same intense eyes could turn into kind, sweet, and sympathetic orbs. He always found her ability to go from tough girl to kind woman amazing.
His gaze followed the lines of her jaw and slender neck, the last traces of bruises and marks –left by him, ironically – hardly visible in the darkness. Eyes traveled further still to her respectably-sized C-cup breasts and thought with a smile how those would change soon as well. Finally his stare landed on her abdomen.
A sudden urge to do something, something completely out of his norm, overtook him like a wave. He was about ninety-nine percent sure that he was going to feel absolutely ridiculous doing this, but he just had to. Making sure that Calleigh was at least relatively sound asleep, he scooted down so that his face was level with her stomach. Taking a deep breath, he gently pulled aside the sheet so that her tank-clad stomach was exposed to him.
"Hi," he whispered hoarsely. "I don't think you can hear me, since you don't have ears yet, but I guess I wanted to let you know; I'm your papi. I helped make you."
He was answered with silence, and he gave a small huff and a smile. "My name is Eric. Your mama's name is Calleigh. Everyone calls her Cal, though."
His whispers filled the night for a good fifteen more minutes. His conclusion was spoken as softly as his fingertips were brushing over her stomach.
"I think we'll be speaking again soon."
***
By nine o' clock Eric was showered and dressed while Calleigh, who had been given the day off, was unusually still sleeping. He left her a note on the nightstand explaining that he was meeting Horatio at the diner a few blocks away from the lab and that he would be back shortly.
He took his off-duty car and was not surprised to find Horatio there fifteen minutes before their set time, 10:00. He walked into the bustling place and easily spotted Horatio's crop of wispy red hair. He moved casually to his boss and sat across from him. Typically, Horatio was twirling his sunglasses between his fingertips, and at Eric's arrival, his grim expression turned upward in an inevitable grin at the sight of him.
"I hate to ask you," he began in typical Horatio fashion, "but how are you feeling?"
Eric chuckled. "I don't think you want to know, exactly, either," he said, ordering a coffee upon the arrival of the waitress. "I, uh, need to talk to you about some things that are beyond my own health."
Horatio nodded, dumping a pack of sugar into his own coffee. "Okay."
Eric took a deep breath. "H, I'm not going to beat around the bush here," he said gravely. "They want you. You're the only thing, in their mind, that can stop them from dominating Miami. When they told me this, I thought for sure that they were going to keep me as bribery, but they didn't. I don't know what they're up to beyond this, but I'm through with it all."
Once again Horatio nodded. "Did they give you time?"
"A week. And no hint as to where them might by."
Horatio took a minute to digest this. "Eric, this is our top priority right now. I don't want you working this for IAB purposes. I want every available team member at the lab." He stopped for a second to gather his thoughts. "Okay?"
Eric opened his mouth, closed it, and then opened it again, actually achieving words this time. "That's not possible, Horatio."
His boss glanced up at him with a slight look of disbelief then raised his eyebrows at his coffee. "Eric-"
"She's pregnant, H," Eric interrupted. "We're pregnant; me and Cal." He took Horatio's shocked silence as his key to keep going. "There is absolutely no way I am putting her or our child in harm's way. I think you, of all people, can understand that." He paused for a moment. "I'm sorry."
The older man stirred his drink. "I understand. You don't have to apologize."
Eric nodded, taking a gulp of his black coffee. "What are we going to do?"
Not exactly sure which tense he meant in saying that, Horatio gave him the best answer possible. "We're gonna catch them," he said simply. "Come by the lab this evening to tell me everything you can remember and we'll go from there."
Content yet slightly frustrated with the lack of a more hopeful and reassuring answer, he muttered a quick, "Yeah," and put a bill on the table. Draining the rest of his coffee, Eric stood.
"Thank you, H. For everything," he said.
Horatio nodded for the third time with a smile. "No need for thanks, Eric."
As Eric began walking away, Horatio called as best he could over the din. "Eric!"
Eric stopped and looked back at his boss.
"Congratulations."
Eric grinned modestly and turned back to his original direction, suddenly ready to get home to his beautiful, pregnant, pajama-clad girlfriend.
AN: Yeah, yeah, crappy ending, sorry. I would like to say that another reason chapters are getting out later than normal (and will continue to do so) is because me piece of crap laptop won't let me log on, and now I have to use our office computer with four other people. I'm writing all my chapters by hand and then typing them when I have time. That's also why their so short. Please bear with me. Now it's time to review!
