There's been a delay on that project thing. We can't think of a title!
But here you are, Chapter Three of this fic.
Enjoy!
The Simplest of Gestures...
They had fought that day, Eric remembered, as he settled himself into his Hummer and shut the door; effectively closing himself off from the world. Then with a sigh, he placed the photo album in his lap and gazed down at the open page. He smiled as he studied the photograph. Calleigh was facing the camera, her piercing green eyes informing him that she was not happy. But, for some reason, he loved that glare she had. The one that could probably stun great armies into paralysis, making even the strongest of men turn to mush.
Not him, though. No.
In fact, it always had the opposite effect; it never failed to make him smile. 'Which often only served to anger her more,' Eric smirked, remembering some of those nights.
He hadn't actually meant to take this photograph, though; it had been an accident. He'd been given a new crime scene camera to test out and he'd been having some trouble trying to get the flash to work. He had been so engrossed in his task that he hadn't even heard her come home, and as she'd walked through the living room door he'd inadvertently taken the picture.
Unfortunately for him, it had been after a particularly gruelling shift - she'd had to stay late to help the night team with another case - and she hadn't been in the best of moods...
/EC/
Calleigh let out a frustrated sigh as she watched Eric's smile grow. There was a time when her glares used to work, used to cut through him. And she told him so.
"Well I guess you give me them so often that they've lost all effect," he teased, attempting to lighten the moment.
She said nothing, didn't even smile. Instead she removed her gun from her holster and set it down on the table. Hard. He watched her with a frown, but she continued to ignore him and buried her head in her hands, trying to massage away the headache that was slowly creeping in.
"Cal, are you - "
"I'm fine, Eric," she cut in tightly. If there was one thing that she didn't do, vulnerability was it. Not even in front of him.
She glanced up when she felt him move towards her and deciding that she really just wanted to be alone right now, she turned and left the room. He followed her, though, followed her into the bathroom and after flipping down the lid of the toilet, he sat himself on it.
"You know, I was planning on having a shower," she informed him coldly as she turned it on, before resting herself against the sink, waiting for the water to reach the right temperature.
"Nothing I haven't seen before," he replied, matching her tone.
There was that glare again. And despite himself, he felt the corners of his mouth turn up. She swallowed and looked away, clearly struggling to keep her emotions in check. He knew her anger wasn't because of him, however; he just happened to be there. Most men would probably have run right from the very first icy stare, but Eric knew better. He knew she needed to vent and even though it was never easy getting her to do so, he always managed to push her just that little bit too far...
Calleigh sighed and stuck her hand under the shower, testing the water. It was still far too hot, but she felt that she'd probably be grateful for it; it would give her a chance to feel something different to that undercurrent of anger that was coursing through her right now. It wasn't Eric's fault, she was just... tired. And stressed. And, if she was honest, it was probably a little bit of the PMT...
But still, she couldn't shake away the many unfounded thoughts of hurting him."Could you leave? I don't want you in here," she told him curtly.
"No," he replied simply, keeping his voice level.
She held his gaze for a moment, her now useless glare being replaced by a look of determination. "I don't want you in here," she repeated. He laughed and stood up, his palms finding the sink on either side of her waist. "Why do you have to be so stubborn?" she suddenly flared; that simple manoeuvre of Eric's getting the better of her.
"I can't believe you didn't hear the deafening irony in that question, Cal!" he shot back, moving his body closer; pressing his chest against hers. He felt her inhale and exhale a few times, gathering her strength before she erupted. But before she had a chance to blow, he did the one thing that he knew would prevent it. Would drive away all of the anger from her body, force the headache from her brain and bring her back to him.
/EC/
He had kissed her.
Hard.
And just as he'd known, it had worked.
He could still remember the kiss now. She'd given into him immediately, increased the intensity of it, poured her anger out into it until all that had been left was desire. His entire body had trembled when her hands had glided up his chest, and he'd responded by pinning her harder against the sink.
She hadn't liked that, though, and had shoved him backwards; moving forwards with his body as their kiss had continued. And Eric remembered losing himself in her smell, in her touch as they'd both rid the other of their clothes. Then without a moment's hesitation he'd lifted her up and tumbled with her into the shower. The water had been hot, the kind of hot that was both painful and welcoming, but neither had paid much attention... he could still feel the coldness of the tiles as she'd backed him against them. 'She was always at her most demanding when she was coming down from an anger high,' Eric smiled; the vision continuing in his mind...
It was cut short, however, when the sound of a car's horn sliced through his thoughts. And Eric frowned when he realised that he'd somehow driven out of the hospital car park and was now sat in front of a set of traffic lights, lights which were now green. He glanced in his mirror and after catching sight of a line of traffic behind him, he hit the gas and continued his journey home.
He wasn't too far from it and a rough ten minutes later, he found himself pulling up outside her house. Their house. He knew that there was probably a photograph for the day that he'd moved in, but he'd find it later. Right now, he still wasn't finished with this one.
But he wanted to get inside first, suddenly feeling a bit claustrophobic inside his Hummer. So he stepped out quickly - photo album in tow - and jogged gently up to the front of the house. His hands fiddled impatiently with his keys, and almost as soon as he'd opened the door he entered the house and shut it again. The bathroom was his first destination and he rested his hands on the sink for a moment, trying to collect his thoughts. Well, more like thought; 'Calleigh...'
He sighed and turned the cold tap on, temporarily placing the photo album down so that he could stick both hands underneath it and watch as the icy water traced the lines down his palms. He took the opportunity to splash his face and his skin reacted happily to the cool droplets. And a much needed feeling of refreshment washed over him as he did it again. Then reaching for a towel, and the photo album, he dabbed his face dry and headed into the bedroom. Their bedroom.
The bed was still unmade from when he'd last been here... about four nights ago now. He hadn't left her side since. He'd had several arguments with the hospital staff about it, but even they hadn't been able to get rid of him. Eric smiled when he realised that Horatio must've been their secret weapon and he sighed as he curled up beneath the covers. Once he was suitably comfortable, he flipped through the book until he found the photograph he'd been looking at.
She'd left that shower a million miles from angry, he remembered. And their banter and teasing had returned.
/EC/
Calleigh smiled to herself as she slipped her towel around her body. She took a moment to dry herself and then exited the bathroom. He followed suit and just as she'd pulled one of his old T-shirts over her head, he wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed the top of her head.
"Eric!" she laughed. "Haven't you had enough?" She felt him arch an eyebrow behind her and she rolled her eyes as she wriggled in his grasp to face him. And sure enough, there was the raised eyebrow. He grinned back at her, stealing a quick kiss, before he eventually pulled away and slipped on a pair of boxers.
"So, you're feeling better?" he teased, folding up his towel and dropping it onto the radiator.
She took in his smirk and despite herself, a small smile began to tug at the corners of her mouth. "I guess I am," Calleigh replied, throwing her own towel at him. "But, just so you know," she paused as she climbed into the bed, "that shower would've have worked just as well without you in it."
Eric laughed at that and after depositing her towel next to his, he slipped in beside her, rolling his body on top of hers. "Liar," he whispered, leaning down to place a gentle kiss on her nose. She stared back at him and he smiled as he watched her lose herself to her thoughts.
"Where are you?" he murmured after a few moments, reaching out to run his fingers through her hair.
"I was just thinking..." she trailed off, biting her lip shyly as she considered what she was about to say.
"Mmm?" Eric prompted as he kissed her forehead.
"Nobody's ever kissed me the way you do."
He pulled back a little then and she watched as his mouth broke out into a smile. It was true, though, her mind reinforced. Eric just had a way of doing something to her; both physically and emotionally. But she couldn't put her finger on it... maybe it was that thing that he did with his tongue...
"Well, that's because I love you," she suddenly heard him say. And she smiled as he held her gaze. But she braced herself when she saw that playful glint form in the corner of his eye; "Even when you're a stubborn pain in the ass," he grinned, laughing as she pushed him off of her. He pulled her with him, though, and as their momentum subsided he found their positions had reversed; she was on top.
"Don't make me get angry again," Calleigh warned, her mouth settling on a playful smile.
"No," he whispered as he sat up, sliding her further into his lap. "We wouldn't want that now, would we..."
/EC/
Yes. They'd had fun that night, Eric remembered. 'But then they always did.'
A small yawn suddenly replaced the smile from his mouth and he buried himself deeper under the covers, trying to get them to fall around him in a way that would fill the void from not having Calleigh there with him. And he struggled to stay awake as he reached for the photo album and turned the page.
But the need for sleep was too great and as the next photograph was revealed to him, his body gave up the battle and his eyes closed; the new image settling in his mind, patiently waiting for the next memory to be unlocked...
As always, I'll update ASAP.
Reviews very much appreciated. :D
