AN: Uh, yeah. I have no excuse other than mass writer's block. None whatsoever… But here it is, and it's finished now, so no more waiting! And no, I did not spend the last year securing the rights to CSI: Miami, so they're still not mine. And special thanks to Joanne (she knows who she is) for helping me with the last section.

Chapter Seven

It took Eric longer than he thought it would to find Calleigh. He checked the usual places: the firearms lab, the locker room, the break room. When he didn't find her in those he got creative. He had just opened the door to the massive evidence vault when he saw movement behind some boxes. He made his way around the corner, and spotted Calleigh sitting on the ground, with her knees pulled up to her chest.

Silently he slid down the wall and sat next to her, once again pulling her upper body into his, lending her his support. "You okay?" Eric asked her.

"I'll be fine," Calleigh replied, looking at her hands, not quite trusting herself to look up at Eric. "It's just weird, you know. Listening to an outsider's viewpoint. When you're in that situation yourself, it's not the same. They don't really understand; they can't."

Looking at Calleigh, seeing how sad she was, Eric realized that he had never heard her talk about this part of her life. Every time the subject of childhood came up, Calleigh would always have one or two stories to tell, but when you tried to probe deeper, she would always change the subject. Now Eric could understand why. She was always the consummate professional at work, but Eric had to wonder… "Calleigh, your Dad, he never… Did he ever hurt you?" Eric asked the question, but he was a little bit scared of the answer.

Calleigh gave a short, mirthless laugh. "Not physically, no, but he never had to. He hit Mom, a couple of times I guess. But every time he'd drink, every time I had to go pick him up at the bar, it hurt. He knew that, too, he just couldn't help himself, I guess."

Eric let that piece of information sink in, relieved to discover that Calleigh hadn't been physically hurt, but still coming to terms with the full affect of the psychological pain that Kenwall Duquesne had caused his daughter. He had always guessed that there was something to Calleigh's childhood that she was hiding, or reluctant to share, but until the past week he had remained oblivious to the extent of the problem. But that was Calleigh, too proud and independent to admit to needing help, unless she was near the end of her very high tolerance. Eric realized that this week had, understandably, finally pushed her over the brink.

Realizing she probably didn't want to talk about it, but also knowing that she should, Eric asked his next question. "Have you gotten a hold of anyone back home yet?"

"Yeah," was Calleigh's one-word response.

Eric paused for a second, waiting to see if Calleigh was going to elaborate on her own. Clearly sensing that Calleigh felt she'd done enough sharing for the day, he pushed ahead. "Are you going back for the funeral?"

Calleigh was silent for so long that Eric was beginning to wonder if she had fallen asleep, or was just ignoring him. "I missed it," her quiet voice finally spoke up. "When they couldn't get a hold of me, the rest of the family just assumed that I didn't care anymore. That I must have felt my new life was more important than my old life. They wanted the whole thing to be done with as quickly as possible."

The bitterness present in her voice surprised Eric; she was usually so upbeat about everything, it wasn't a tone that he often heard from her. Not that in this situation she didn't deserve more than a little bit of bitterness. In fact, if he had been in her place, he would have resorted to that feeling long ago. However, none of that would really help right now, so he said the only thing that he could. "I'm sorry, Calleigh. I really am. You know I'm here for you. Always."

For the first time since he had found her in the evidence locker, Calleigh finally looked up at him. The hurt that was present in her eyes shocked him at first, but behind that he also saw gratitude. He was grateful for that; of all the things he had seen in his career as a CSI, the look on Calleigh's face right now definitely disturbed him far more than anything else, and he was glad for even that tiny glimmer of hope.

"I know, and thank you," was all she said. Was all she had to say. Eric just sat there with her in his arms, waiting for her to be ready in the silence that followed. It was a comforting silence, a soothing one.

"Calleigh," Eric softly called, careful not to break the calmness that seemed to settle upon her. She shifted in his arms, indicating that she was listening. "We care about you," he said.

Calleigh turned to face him once more, questioning.

"I mean, I know it's not the same, but… You have me. And Horatio, Ryan, and don't forget Tripp. And your father. Family are the people who care about you, Calleigh, and well, we care."

Calleigh didn't answer. She just settled further into Eric's arms, seemingly content just to stay there. That was all the answer that Eric needed.

END

And one last thank you to all who have read this, and an extra special thank you to those who reviewed! You are the reason that this actually got finished, finally. You guys rock!!!