Thanks again for all the reviews keep those coming...and now on with the next chapter...

Eric's whole body felt heavy and numb as he sat in the waiting room. It was going on three hours since Calleigh had been taken into surgery and his mind was beginning to conjure up all the things that could be going wrong in the operating room.Casually rubbing his bruised knuckles he didn't hear the approaching footsteps.

"Eric?"

"Alexx. When did you get here?"

"Just now, how you doing sweetie?" she asked sitting down in the empty chair across from him. It was then that she noticed the purple bruises on his knuckles. "Honey what did you do to your hand?"

"I, uh, punched a wall" he replied folding his hands in his lap.

"Did you get it checked out at least?" she asked reaching for his injured hand

"It's not broken"

"Good. Has there been any news yet?"

"No. It's going on three hours plus and nothing. I just wish someone would come out tell me something, anything" He couldn't hide his frustration anymore. It was killing not knowing how Calleigh was dong and it made his stomach twist into knots every time he pictured her beautiful marred with her own blood.

"Sweetie you need to relax. She is going to be fine you have to believe that. I know you two are close--

"She's my best friend"

"You and I both know it is more than that" Even though it wasn't the time or place Alexx wished she had a camera to capture the look of surprise on Eric's face at that moment.

"Alexx I don't know what you talking about"

"Sweetie just because I spend my day with dead people doesn't mean I don't see what the living ones are doing"

Eric cracked a smile. It was the first time since he found Calleigh lying on the floor that he felt himself relax. "After she the incident where she was run off the road, I could tell she was shaken by it, even though she was telling everyone she was fine"

"Typical Calleigh"

"Yeah it took me a good hour to get her to admit that it bothered her"

Flashback

That night after closing the case Eric decided to confront Calleigh at her home about the ordeal at the canal. She acted like nothing had happened and he wanted to talk to her about it but in realty he wanted to make sure she fine for his own shattered nerves.

"Eric I'm fine" she immediately said opening her door to let him in.

"Calleigh you may have Ryan and everyone else fooled but I don't buy it. I saw you right after they pulled the Hummer out of the water"

"It happened, it's over. We got our bad guy. What more do you want me to say?"

"Why must you always shut people out?"

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me." He replied getting right up in her personal space. He knew the way to fluster Calleigh and get her to admit to something was to get right up in her face about it. Plus he knew how much she hated it. "You act like the fact that you could have drowned today doesn't bother you."

She didn't answer him. He could tell she was retreating and he was losing whatever opportunity he might have to get her to open up. Putting his hands on her shoulders he decided to take a different route. "When H called me and told me you had been run off the road and told me to bring my gear I thought I going to have to fish your body out of that canal and it scared the hell out of me"

Needles to say that got her attention

"I'm sorry"

"I don't want you to be sorry, I want you to talk to me"

"I was terrified."

Her words startled him. He never expected the strongest woman he had ever met, other than his mother, to admit to being terrified. He was even more shocked when he saw a lone tear fall down her cheek.

Without drawing attention to it he raised his hand to her cheek and brushed away the tear. He continued to silently rub her cheek with his thumb until she averted her gazed from the floor to his eyes. Normally, not that he ever saw Calleigh cry, she would have that 'I am a strong southern woman look' in her eye but this time her eyes looked softer and less closed off. Feeling his stomach flutter he let instinct totally take over and then next thing he knew their lips were locked in a passionate kiss.

Seeing that she wasn't resisting his advances he pushed forward cupping her cheeks and deepening the kiss. After a few moments they broke apart, both heavily panting, foreheads touching.

"Cal I-"

"Shhshh" was all she said before kissing him again, taking him by the hand and leading him to her room

End Flashback

"I can guess what happened next" Alexx replied

"Yeah well since then we've been kind of dating"

"Now what the hell does that mean?"

Eric smirked. He knew how absurd it sounded but it was true. Since that night, they simply went out to dinner, watched movies or talked. Something Eric normally never did after sleeping with a woman but to him Calleigh was different. She had always been different. He was about to explain that to Alexx when the doctor interrupted them.

"Detectives"

TBC…..I know am sooooo evil to leave it there but it just begged to be done!! Please review!