Sorry for the delay, guys. Blame Adorelo. I do :p.

Enjoy!


It's Clearest After Sunset...


Eric was dreaming. Dreaming of Calleigh. She was happy, laughing about something, and he smiled in his sleep as she approached and reached up to kiss him. But just as their lips were about to meet, he woke with a start.

Because Calleigh wasn't there.

She was in the hospital, sleeping away peacefully. Without him.

Sighing, Eric rubbed his eyes and held his head in his hands for a moment, trying to savour every last second of the dream that he'd just had. But just as dreams do, it had escaped him. Vanished.

As he sat up, his gaze fell to the open page of the photo album and he immediately reached for it. Eric grinned as the memory started to diffuse through his brain, his heartbreak temporarily taking a back-seat as the remembrance of past happiness seeped in.

It was a photograph of the night sky. Calleigh was only just in the photo, laughing happily at some random moment. He loved the way that she laughed. First, she broke into her trademark smile, her eyes got a little greener; a little wider. And then an infectious giggle would break through. 'It was impossible to stay serious when she did that,' he remembered. Even now, just thinking about it brought a smile to his mouth.

The day that the photo had been taken had been her birthday, and the department had thrown her a party that evening - much to his annoyance. He'd wanted to do something special for her; but ever the professional, Calleigh had graciously accepted the invitation... even if it was to her own party.

/EC/

Eric sighed. He'd been stuck talking to a lab technician for a good - he paused to look at his watch - twelve minutes now. He didn't even know the man's name; he'd probably mentioned it at the start of the conversation, but Eric hadn't been listening. Still wasn't in fact. Instead, his sole attention was focused on Calleigh.

She was talking animatedly with Natalia and some of the guys from her ballistics lab. And judging from that glint she had in her eyes, Eric was sure that she was trying to set the other CSI up with one of them. Natalia didn't seem to be complaining, though, he noted. Which was surprising; he'd have thought something like this was more up Valera's street...

"Eric, would you stop it?" Ryan's voice suddenly spoke to him.

"Huh?" he replied, tugging his eyes away from Calleigh and frowning when he realised that the technician he'd been 'talking' to had vanished.

"Having eye-sex with your other half over there," Ryan clarified. "You've scared Michael away."

"What?"

"You've been shooting Calleigh that look all night. You know, the kind that says, 'I can't wait until we're alone so I can - '"

"Yes, thank you, Wolfe," Eric cut in quickly. He'd be lying if he said that he hadn't been thinking about that, because she definitely looked stunning tonight. And judging by the looks she was getting - envy from the women, appreciative glances from the men - Eric was well aware that he was one lucky guy. Moments like this did wonders for his ego...

But tonight wasn't about him. It was about Calleigh. And there was something that he'd been wanting to do for her, but he was rapidly running out of time; in fact, he wasn't sure that it'd still be there.

He glanced over to her again and smiled as he watched her laugh, feeling a slight pang of jealousy that he wasn't the one making her do that. And almost as if she sensed his thought her eyes found his, her green orbs dancing playfully. They continued to watch each other for a moment, both lost to thoughts of the other, and as Ryan began to speak again Eric walked away.

It was time to take action.

His hands slipped around her from behind as he approached, and he pulled her gently against his chest. Calleigh melted into him instantly; everyone in the room knew that they were a couple and they didn't normally flaunt their relationship in front of their colleagues, but it was her birthday party. She was free to do as she pleased... providing it was legal of course.

"Hey," Eric whispered into her ear, his lips brushing lightly against the skin there. He felt her smile and she moved her hands down to her waist, settling over his.

"And I think that's our cue to leave," Natalia spoke, eyebrows raised. She tugged gently at the two men she'd been talking to Calleigh with, and led them over to the bar.

"Having fun?" Eric asked as soon as they were alone.

"Mmm," she began, turning in his embrace to face him, "but I get the feeling that you're not?"

He laughed and slid his hands up from her waist, tracing gentle circles up her back. "I just hate sharing you," he told her simply, before leaning in and settling his lips over her ear once more. "Eres bella," he whispered, feeling her shiver at his words.

Calleigh loved it when he said that, told her she was beautiful; whenever guys had told her that before, she'd just rolled her eyes and not thought anything of it. But with Eric, she found herself believing it... maybe it was because he always whispered it in Spanish - it just made it sound sexier somehow.

"Cal?" he breathed against her hair, sending another shiver down her spine.

"Yeah?" she murmured, forcing her eyes to stay open; fixing them on an invisible point somewhere behind his right shoulder... if only they weren't in public...

"There's something that I want to show you," she heard Eric continue as his head swam back into view. "Do you think we could leave now?" he asked gently, eyes silently pleading with her, hands still caressing her back.

"Eric, it would be - " She bit her lip as a hand wandered over her stomach. "Rude," she breathed. His movements continued, however, and she sighed, realising that if they didn't leave now, they'd be in serious danger of making love right here; in the middle of a public venue with their colleagues as the audience.

And that wouldn't do at all... and if she was being picky, it probably wasn't legal. Even on her birthday.

"Meet me outside in ten minutes, okay?" she eventually decided, finding his wandering hand and removing it firmly from her person. "I just need to say some goodbyes."

"Make some excuses?" Eric teased, releasing her from his grasp.

She flashed him a dangerous smile and stepped closer to him again, her lips hovering milimeters from his. "I don't need to, Eric," she whispered. "It's my party and I can do what I want to." Her lips strayed agonisingly close, before she moved backwards and set off to begin the polite routine of saying farewell to everyone. Or at least those who mattered...

/EC/

She'd still managed to keep him waiting more than ten minutes, though, Eric remembered as he traced over the photograph. The memory still hadn't got to that part yet, the moment where he'd taken it, but he didn't want to rush it. He wanted to savour every moment he'd ever had with her, for fear of...

No. He wouldn't go there; couldn't go there.

But unlike a dream, Eric often found that a memory stayed with him for longer. Sometimes forever. Especially if it was perfect enough. And even though he had a bullet in his brain, and still experienced some memory loss, he never forgot anything that he did with Calleigh. Each and every moment stayed stored in his mind; he could probably even categorise them, too. Because their relationship was solid and stable, trusting and warm, and comfortable as well as sexy, passionate and dramatic.

And without their romantic memories, he'd have nothing right now.

He smiled as this particular memory continued. Once she'd finally escaped the party he'd ushered her into the car; but instead of taking them home, he'd taken a detour...

/EC/

Calleigh frowned when she clocked the road that Eric had just turned onto. It wasn't going to take them anywhere near their house. And she told him so.

"No, but I want to show you something, remember?" he grinned, keeping his eyes straight... something that he found incredibly hard to do when she was looking like that. She wriggled in her seat next to him as she sat up, and his smile widened when he felt her give him her questioning look. "It's a surprise," he laughed.

"Eric," she warned. "You know I don't do surprises."

"Mmm, I forgot you had a control complex," he quipped, making a turning to the right.

She sighed and leant back into her seat, and it took her all of five seconds before she had to ask, "Could you at least tell me where we're going?"

"No. Location's not important," he mumbled, squinting ahead as he tried to remember which way to go. It had been such a long time since he'd last been here; he used to go with his father all the time when he was a kid. It was the best spot for things like this; well away from the glare of the City.

"Well, could - "

"Calleigh, I love you sweetheart, but please shut up." He removed a hand from the steering wheel and found hers with it. Giving it a gentle squeeze, he continued, "I'm trying to concentrate."

She began to move in her seat again and Eric smiled, knowing that she was struggling with herself, hating that she didn't know where they were going or what they were doing. And he loved it, loved that he could take her control away like this. She wouldn't let just anyone, although she very rarely had a choice when it came to him; Eric had ways of making her do almost anything...

"Okay," he began as he pulled into a secluded parking space, "we're here."

Calleigh took a moment to survey her surroundings, and frowned as she soaked up the view. "It's a field, Eric." He simply laughed and hopped out of the car.

Not wanting to be left out of the loop any longer, she followed him and watched as he popped open the trunk to reveal a blanket. Ignoring her questioning look, he grabbed it, shut the boot, and reached for her hand. Then without giving her any chance to protest, he tugged her to the front of the car and laid the blanket out, pulling her down with him once he'd done so.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" she asked, her tone a little annoyed; her glare was there, too.

And Eric could already feel the corners of his mouth involuntarily turning up. "Just relax, Cal," he murmured softly, reaching out to run his fingers through her hair. But before she could reply, he laid himself flat on his back and tugged her into the same position. "Look to the West," he whispered, gesturing towards the night sky and using the Northern star to find said direction.

She briefly considered telling him where to go, but her curiosity got the better of her and she begrudgingly followed his gaze. "What am I looking at?" she murmured after a few moments of squinting up at the twinkly, dark back-drop.

He laughed and reached for her hand, silently tracing a shape of stars with it. "The constellation of Pisces. Your star sign." There was a pause, before he began to ramble nervously, "I was worried that we wouldn't be able to see it; it's clearest after sunset. But the party - "

"Eric," Calleigh cut in, sitting up so that she could face him properly. She stopped then, realising that she actually had nothing to say. Eric Delko had done it; he'd rendered her speechless. She couldn't even muster an 'oh' or an 'ah'. Not even a squeak or a squeal. So instead, she simply reached for his hand and gave it a firm squeeze whilst she flashed him a smile. Still saying nothing, she settled herself back down and rested her head on his chest. And as his fingers began to play with her hair, she cast her gaze upwards and found her constellation once more. "Do you have a camera with you?" she suddenly found her voice.

"Uh, yeah," Eric replied. "Why?"

"Do you think it will be able to capture that?" she paused, biting her lip shyly as she continued, "In case I can't ever find it again..."

Before she'd even finished her sentence, he was up and back at the car. She watched as he rummaged around in the back for a few moments before he eventually pulled out his camera. "Well, let's see." He laid himself down on the blanket again and pointed the camera towards the sky, whilst Calleigh sat herself up for him to use as a guide through the lens.

"You found it?" she asked, keeping her arm pointed towards the stars.

"Found it," she heard him confirm and she let her arm drop. She studied Eric as he got ready to take the photograph. His jaw was set, his brow furrowed - a look of pure concentration etched upon his face. And she began to laugh, noticing how serious he looked.

"What?" he grinned as he adjusted the settings of the camera and clicked the button to take the picture, hoping that the stars were going to show up. And if not, well maybe one of the lab techs could blow it up and enhance it at work...

Calleigh shook her head. "Just you," she smiled as she laid back down and rested her head on his chest once more.

/EC/

They'd stayed like that for a long time, Eric remembered. There was something captivating about star-gazing; something poetic about the notion that the fairy lights went on for miles, shone from infinite distances... silently, slowly and beautifully burning their life away.

His heart tensed when he realised that in a way, Calleigh was doing that, too. Sure, he knew that she wasn't dying...

But she wasn't waking up either. Conscious Calleigh was silently slipping away from him. And all he knew was that he needed to be with her.

Now.

It was still dark, still night time, but Eric didn't care. He craved her presence, just wanted to be near her; to touch her; hold her; kiss her. But he needed to change first, realising that he'd been in the same clothes for four days now. So he did so quickly, and then reaching for the photo album, he left the house. He briefly wondered how much compassionate leave he had left as he approached his Hummer, and then frowned at the thought. How could anyone put a time stamp on grief? Heartbreak?

He sighed the question away as he buckled up and reached for the ignition, and then focused solely on getting to his destination.

And as the stars gazed down at him, Eric Delko drove himself back to the hospital. Back to Calleigh. And even if she didn't wake up when he got there, he'd have her there in front of him. Her and the photo album...


I'm not going to be able to update until the weekend I'm afraid. I've got exams all this week which only determine the rest of my future... but I won't abandon this fic. Promise.

Reviews very much appreciated :D

PS. For the picky amongst you - cough-Jodie-cough - it is possible to take photographs of stars. You need a short lens (50 mm f1.8), turn the apature wayyy up, fiddle with the PP for a bit and hope you get lucky. Oh, and you need a high-tech camera, like a crime scene one :P. But as it's EC, who needs luck? It's just romantic-ness.