Calleigh sighed as she compared the two bullets again. She did it every day. She knew that when she pulled them out and put them into the comparison microscope they wouldn't change. The two bullet striations would still be different, and Tracey would still be on the loose, just waiting for her to make the wrong move one day. After confirming that she couldn't magically make the bullet striations the same, she put them away and finished up the small amount of paperwork she had.
Lucky for her, Tim was leaving just as she was. He flashed her a smile, but it wasn't the same as it had been two years ago. It was duller, and more casual then his smiles usually were when she saw him. She walked out of the building and turned to face him. "Hey," she said lightly, giving him a small smile of her own.
Tim had noticed more change about her in the last few years than she had about him. He noticed that her smiles were getting smaller and smaller each day. She seemed to be trying so hard to impress no one at all. She wore more make up and did her hair up real fancy every day. But the thing he noticed most was the sparkle that wasn't there in her eyes. Ever since she'd told him that she couldn't be with him, he'd missed it. He wanted so desperately to bring it back to her eyes, but he just couldn't, she wouldn't let him in.
Calleigh looked back towards the street and thought that she saw something, but she shook it off and started to walk down the stairs towards her car. About halfway down the stairs, she felt something hot enter her chest. She heard people scream and saw people ducking. She fell backwards onto the step, not sure what was going on. She heard screaming and she heard Tim calling for help but she didn't know what had happened. She reached down to where she felt the pain and then brought it back up to see blood. She winced and looked up to see Tim over her. She had tears in her eyes and she hadn't felt this much pain in her life.
"Calleigh, Calleigh! Listen to me Cal, you have to hold on, okay? Don't leave me Calleigh, you can't leave me. I know you probably don't love me anymore and you've moved on but I can't get over you, and I never will. Please Cal, don't leave me," Tim said worriedly. He was hysterical and he pleaded nonstop for Calleigh to stay with him.
Calleigh looked up at him and put her finger to his lips in order to shut him up. She shook her head and let her tears fall. "I never stopped loving you," she told him softly. "If I don't get through this Tim, don't forget that I loved you okay?" she asked.
Tim shook his head. "No Calleigh, I won't let you leave me," he said as his tears crashed onto her shirt. He leaned down, against his better judgment and kissed her, but soon pulled away. She turned to her side and coughed, only to open her eyes and see blood spatter where she'd coughed. The ambulance arrived and ran up to her. Tim was still frantic. He wiped the blood from her lips and got into the ambulance with her when they took her away. She was still conscious when they got her IV in, but she was bleeding fast.
She cried out in pain when one of the medics put more pressure on her wound. She clenched her fists closed, which Tim saw, and picked one of her hands up, and loosened it. His lips were bloody, and now his hand was too. He didn't care. Calleigh needed him and he was going to be there for her.
Finally, it came time for Tim to find out how Calleigh was. The doctor came up to him and announced himself, and shook Tim's hand, but he didn't care about who he was he wanted to know how Calleigh was. He said a bunch of stuff but the only thing that Tim heard was "She's going to be just fine, you can see her now."
Tim practically sprinted to her room. Five and a half hours of waiting and he wasn't about to waste one more second. He found her laying there, beautiful as ever. Her hair was sprawled all over the pillow; she looked like an angel. He walked over to her and sat down next to her, swearing that he would never let anyone hurt her again. He would die before she got hurt again.
THREE WEEKS LATER
Calleigh finally arrived home, and was in bed, waking to find Tim next to her. She'd gotten in real late last night, and invited him to lay in bed with her, but she guessed that he didn't plan on falling asleep. She didn't care, she loved him, so why not sleep in the same bed?
He shifted and found her awake. It was then that he saw it. Her eyes looking straight back into his. And with the glare of the sun, he could see that sparkle. The sparkle that told him she was happy, the sparkle that only came from angels. He never wanted that sparkle to go away, and he would try his hardest not to let it fade.
"Good morning," Calleigh said brightly. She noticed that Tim still looked exhausted. He'd been taking care of her in the hospital for the past few weeks, bringing her food, books and other things to do. He also offered a level of comfort for her. She'd invited him to lay down with her more times than she could count, and half the time she ended up falling asleep in his arms. The one thing she loved about falling asleep in his arms was that he always kissed her forehead just when she was about to fall asleep. She loved that.
"Morning," Tim muttered back. "How are you feeling?" He wouldn't admit it, but he enjoyed taking care of her, he loved the fact that Calleigh not only wanted him there, but needed him there.
Calleigh smiled a little. "I'm okay," she told him as she scooted into his arms. He draped his arm over her and kissed her forehead.
"Calleigh…" he said softly, earning her attention. "I love you," he finished. Cal smiled and leaned in to give him a soft kiss.
"I love you too Tim, and…thanks for taking care of me," she said lightly as she nuzzled her nose into his chest and smiled into it. She hadn't been this happy in a while. Especially since she'd gotten a call last night and was told that Tracey was put in custody.
A few hours later, Calleigh was up and moving for the first time in a while. Her side didn't hurt as much from the bullet, and she could walk pretty well. Sure, she was rid to lab work, but she didn't care. Today, she was going to match those bullets.
"Calleigh, are you ready?" Tim asked her as he grabbed his keys, and an apple for Calleigh. He had to make sure that she ate well.
"Yeah, coming!" Calleigh shouted as she slipped on her usual white heels. She walked out of the bedroom in her all white suit, and her hair down over her back. She beamed a smile at Tim, and then looked at him blankly. "What?" she asked, wondering if there was something wrong with what she was wearing.
"You look like an angel," Tim said with a smirk as Calleigh walked up to him.
"What kind of an angel?" she asked playfully as she came up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. He thought for a minute then looked back down to her.
"My angel," he said sweetly, then leaned down to kiss her lightly. "Come on, let's go to work," he told her.