Author: Kazalene
Beta'd by: lostladyknight
3 Elements from: lostladyknight
1. A Baby
2. Three Pieces of Plastic
3. A Hot Air Balloon
Well, here we are. The final chapter. I just want to say thank you to all the writers who made this project such a success - you made everything so easy and I can't believe how this story turned out. You're all amazing.
And, of course, thank you to those of you who took the time to read, as well to review.
Enjoy.
Chapter Twelve: Won't Go Home Without You
As the plane rose up into the air, Calleigh rested her forehead against the glass of the window and watched as the ground disappeared beneath them. Moving through the clouds and into the brilliant blue of the stratosphere, she smiled at how clear the sky was. It was beautiful. And a perfect representation of her mind state. Quantico had brought everything into focus for her, and it had been a long time since she'd had such emotional clarity. A really long time. An overdue one, in fact.
But being with Eric, having finally taken a gigantic leap over that since forgotten line, somehow made her feel... amazing. Made her wonder how they'd taken so long to get to where they were now.
She knew why, though.
Every time that they'd got close, she'd run away. Gone looking for the nearest exit and made sure that she'd well and truly hurled herself through it. But, God, what she felt for Eric was just so intense. The desire had always been there, and the sexual tension stifling at times. It was more than that, though.
It was a raw and deep emotion. Something that encompassed the infinite amount of trust they'd developed over the years.
Love.
And it really was.
She bit her lip shyly as she entertained the idea and wriggled in her seat a little, trying to make herself comfortable. Satisfied that she was, she resumed to gazing out at the cloudless sky, amazed at how pristine it looked.
"Takes your breath away, huh?" Eric murmured quietly beside her.
Her eyes found his and she smiled. "Yeah, it does." She opened her mouth to speak again, to try and verbalise everything that she'd just been thinking about, but she was interrupted by the sound of a screaming baby in the aisle next to them.
The mother looked exhausted, and shot an apologetic look in the direction of her fellow passengers before attempting to settle the bundle in her arms. Several minutes later, and to no avail, she seemed just about ready to cry. "Please," she whispered a final time, eyes pleading down at her baby.
Feeling like he should do something, Eric dug into his pockets until he found what he was looking for. Having located his keys, he leaned over towards the mother. "Here," he offered. "Try this." He held the item out and nodded for her to take it.
She smiled her gratitude and half-heartedly began to dangle the keys above her screaming bundle of noise. And, after a few moments, a tiny hand reached up to tug at them, booming cries becoming tiny whimpers, until peace was finally restored to the aeroplane. "Thank you," she told Eric, a wide smile lighting up her features.
"No problem," he answered with a wink, settling back into his chair.
Calleigh watched the scene carefully, a small smile tugging at her mouth as Eric made himself comfortable once more. Her gaze continued to linger on the baby as small fingers began to probe at the three plastic items that hung from the keyring, and she found her eyes drawn to the interesting objects. She could understand the yellow fish - that surely derived from his love of the ocean. The other two items, however, were harder to place.
"What does that mean?" she asked, gesturing to a thin blue strip with what she could only presume to be Russian cryllic written on it: Ерик
He followed her gaze. "It's my name," he smiled, turning to face her. "My grandfather gave it to me when I was a kid. You pronounce it Yeryik."
"That's cute," she teased, before nodding to the final item. "What about that one?"
He was silent for a moment as he stared at the tiny kaleidoscope that she was referring to: the one that held the most sentiment. "Remember the year that Valera cooked us Christmas dinner, those few days before the 25th?" he murmured after a little while; continuing when she nodded. "I'd only been with the lab for a couple of months, and she was going through one of her phases: that time it had been an obsession with - "
"Hugh Grant, the English actor," Calleigh finished for him, a small laugh escaping her. "She adopted everything British that year."
"Yeah," Eric grinned. "Which is why, that year, we had Christmas crackers at the dinner table. The things with the unfunny jokes, broken paper hats, and cheap novelty toys inside of them." He laughed. "Anyway, I asked you to pull mine with me, and you did. You won it, though. But you already had your items - Speed had pulled your cracker with you - so you let me have them, which makes that - " He gestured over to the mini kaleidoscope, "the first thing you ever gave me."
"Eric," Calleigh began, trying verbalise the rush of emotion that was coursing through her right now, "Eric, how can you possibly remember that?"
A smile tugged on the corner of his mouth, then, his gaze briefly falling to floor before his eyes found hers again, "Because," he stated simply, "I love you. That's how."
She bit her lip shyly at his words, couldn't contain the grin that spread across her features - didn't want to. Then, leaning towards him, she pressed a soft kiss to his mouth, pulling back to whisper, "Good. 'Cause I love you, too."
His eyes never leaving hers, he reached out a hand to brush the hair away from her face before he captured her lips once more - deepening the kiss almost immediately. She responded with a small sigh, the kind that sent shivers down his spine. And, at that moment in time, he couldn't care less that they were on a plane with hundreds of other people.
Evidently, however, she could, and she broke the contact - albeit half-heartedly. Taking that as a sign, though, he leaned in again and kissed the corner of her mouth, his lips tracing their way across it as she attempted to protest, "Eric..." She let him have his fun a little longer - knowing that she didn't have any real desire to push him away - but then her brain kicked in once more and she was finally able to disentangle herself from him. "How about we save this for after we land, okay?" she told him, more than asked him.
He arched an eyebrow at her, a coy smile tugging at his mouth as he began to nod. And he slipped his arm around her instead, drawing her against his body as she settled her head against his shoulder. Glancing over at the baby who was still fiddling with his keys, his gaze fell to the mini kaleidoscope, a small chuckle escaping him when he realised that such an insignificant object meant the nearly world to him.
It was Calleigh who meant the world.
/EC/
The landing was a smooth one, and, after having reclaimed Eric's keys, collected their luggage and retrieved the car, they made their way to the lab - having promised Horatio to call in once they were home.
Exiting the elevator, they stepped out into the hallway and headed for their lieutenant's office. He looked up when Calleigh knocked, nodded for them to sit down, and then greeted them with a smile. "So, was the conference worthwhile?" He watched as his two CSI's exchanged a private look, raising his eyebrows when he read the signals. Choosing to ignore what he saw, however, he patiently waited for a response.
"Extremely worthwhile," Calleigh answered, finally tearing her eyes away from Eric. "When do you want that report by?"
"As soon as you can, please," Horatio replied. "I need to present your findings at a department meeting next week. Several judges and district attorneys are going to be there, and I want to get across to them just how useful - and valid - Computer Forensics is. What about the new piece of equipment we're getting - did it look any good?"
"Yeah, it's a new crime scene sketching device that eliminates the need for human artistry. It saves a lot of time when trying to build up an image of a suspect. Is amazingly accurate, too," Eric explained, trying to remember the details. Actually, that was the only conference he really remembered. The Computer Forensics one had completely escaped him, and he knew Calleigh was going to have fun teasing him about it - especially considering the fact that he'd told her he hadn't needed a pen, would instead commit everything the professor said to memory.
And, judging from the small smile she had, it was clear that she was reading his mind. Coming to his rescue, she suggested, "How about I write up the computer report and Eric takes the new equipment?"
"Sounds good," Horatio nodded. "Anyway, you two should get going. I want you both fresh for the morning - it hasn't been the same without you." He waited until they'd reached the door before he opened his mouth to speak again. "Oh, and guys?" The two of them spun around, patiently waiting for him to continue, "I'm glad you enjoyed the conference so much. It seems like it really opened your eyes up to some things, allowed you to test the boundaries of what we do."
Calleigh hesitated, not sure if there was a double meaning in there or not. Deciding it would be best to remain silent, however, she simply flashed him a smile and nodded, before following Eric out of the room.
"You think he knows?" he asked as soon as they'd made it some way down the corridor.
"About us?" Calleigh questioned. "Absolutely."
"Yeah, thought so," Eric breathed, pushing the button for the elevator.
As they waited for it to arrive, Calleigh remained silent, her mind trying to gain a perspective on the situation. The problem was that Horatio hadn't outright said anything, but, if she knew her boss as well as she thought she did, she was pretty sure that he'd given them his silent permission. There'd been a warning in it, too, however. Of course there had - relationships at work were dangerous. But she took comfort in the fact that the lieutenant had put his trust in them. And it was something that he wasn't going to regret.
She'd make sure of it.
/EC/
Sliding into the passenger seat of the Hummer, a small yawn escaped Calleigh as she reached for her seat-belt. Stifling it, she couldn't deny that she was looking forward to her own bed. Glancing over at Eric, however, she felt a wave of nostalgia when she realised that she wasn't going to see him first thing in the morning. She'd got so used to seeing him there, his hair messy and bed-shaped, the dark shadow that traced his jaw before he'd shaved...
But, perhaps it would be a good thing to spend some time apart. Besides, she had a report to write. And there was no chance that she'd be able to do it if Eric was around. None. At all.
"Where are you?" he suddenly called softly to her from the driving seat.
Breaking her trance, she turned to face him. "I was just thinking - " She hesitated, taking a moment to savour the feeling of being this open with him, "I'm going to miss you."
Keeping his eyes focused on the road, he reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Likewise," he smiled. "How about I swing by in the morning and give you a lift to work?"
"I would love that," she murmured quietly, slipping her fingers through his. As he made a left she caught sight of a hot air balloon flying overhead. "You ever been in one?" she asked, gesturing towards it.
"No, I've always wanted to, though."
"Me too," she smiled, considering all of the things that they could now do together.
Neither said anything after that, both of them knowing that words were no longer necessary. The comfortable silence was eventually broken, however, when Calleigh's house appeared through the windscreen. Coming to a halt, Eric jumped out of the car and headed for the trunk to get her luggage. He was just about to grab her case when his cell buzzed and he reached for it, reading the text that had just come through:
Eric, you were right. I'm on my way to pick up Angela. We're going for a drink. Thanks, mate. Matt.
He laughed and sent back, Don't mention it, before flipping his phone shut and reaching for Calleigh's case.
She walked slowly up her driveway, fiddling with her bag as she tried to locate her keys. And she'd just managed to slide them into the lock when Eric appeared behind her. Stepping through the door and into her hallway, he followed suit and placed her luggage down on the carpet. "So," he began nervously, a little unsure about what to do, "I guess I'll get going, then."
She smiled up at him, taking a step closer so that she could slide her arms around his neck. "Yeah, I suppose we should get started on those reports," she managed to whisper before he closed the distance, his lips finding hers to place a soft, lingering kiss on her mouth.
"Yeah," he eventually replied. He held her gaze for a moment, not wanting to let her go, until with a sigh, he finally released her from his grasp. "I'll call you in the morning."
She nodded, following him to the door; she'd just reached it when he suddenly spun around, a growl of frustration escaping him. "You know what? How about we forget the reports tonight?" He was pretty sure that there was no way in hell that he'd be able to think of anything but her, anyway.
"Eric," she smiled, arching an eyebrow.
Ignoring her, however, he closed the distance between them again. "I think - " He kissed her, "That we've - " Another kiss, "Done enough work - " A third kiss, "For one day." He pulled back to look at her, "Don't you?"
She stared back at him, a smile breaking through when she realised that she couldn't think of a single argument. And, more to the point, she didn't want to think of one. "You sill owe me dinner," she finally told him. "I believe you were going to cook for me in Quantico."
"I was," he grinned, his mouth hovering inches away from hers. "Are you sure you trust me enough not to burn anything, though?" he whispered, referring back to the potato incident.
Laughing, she nodded, stealing a lingering kiss before she pulled away to say, "This is all because you have no idea what on earth you're going to write about that artistry equipment, isn't it?"
"Naturally," he shot back, running a hand through her hair as he wiggled his eyebrows playfully.
"Well, of course," she teased, slipping away from him so she could shut the front door. Then turning back around, she gestured for him to follow her into the kitchen.
And as he did so, she couldn't help but notice how natural it felt. How amazing it was to have him here with her, in her home, about to cook dinner. Knowing that he loved her, that she loved him, that she could kiss him simply because she could, that she'd never felt... this before. It was almost overwhelming.
But, despite everything that she was feeling right now, a single thought pushed its way through. And as it became the sole focus of her brain, she couldn't help but smile.
Yes, Quantico had been a God-send.
Truly.
- Fin -
Okay, there we have it - the completed first story from this group of authors. If anyone is interested in taking part in the next one, let me know!
